Department of Film and Video Archive
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Department of Film and Video archive, Title Department of Film and Video archive (fv001) Dates 1907-2009 [bulk 1970-2003] Creator Summary Quantity 200 linear feet of graphic material and textual records Restrictions on Access Language English Kate Barbera PDF Created January 20, 2016 Department of Film and Video archive, Page 2 of 65 Carnegie Museum of Art (CMOA) established the Film Section (subsequently, the Section of Film and Video and the Department of Film and Video) in 1970, making it one of the first museum-based film departments in the country. As part of the first wave of museums to celebrate moving image work, CMOA played a central role in legitimizing film as an art form, leading a movement that would eventually result in the integration of moving image artworks in museum collections worldwide. The department's active roster of programmingÐfeaturing historical screenings, director's retrospectives, and monthly appearances by experimental filmmakers from around the worldÐwas a leading factor in Pittsburgh's emergence in the 1970s as ªone of the most vibrant and exciting places in America for exploring cinema.º (Robert A. Haller, Crossroads: Avant-garde Film in Pittsburgh in the 1970s, 2005). The museum also served as a galvanizing force in the burgeoning field by increasing visibility and promoting the professionalization of moving image art through its publication of Film and Video Makers Travel Sheet (a monthly newsletter distributed to 2,000 subscribers worldwide) and the Film and Video Makers Directory (a listing of those involved in film and video production and exhibition) and by paying substantial honoraria to visiting filmmakers. Sally Dixon, a Pittsburgh-based amateur filmmaker, came up with the idea for a film program at CMOA in 1969. She wanted to create a community where audiences could watch films, learn from independent filmmakers directly, and gain access to equipment necessary to produce work of their own. The program began as a limited, three-year venture but soon grew into a full-fledged, highly productive department. The museum's influential Visiting Filmmaker Series (1970-1984), presented artists such as Kenneth Anger, Stan Brakhage, Tony Conrad, Hollis Frampton, Malcolm LeGrice, Yvonne Rainer, Carolee Schneemann, and Michael Snow to capacity audiences, and the supportive environment was such that several elected to make significant works while in Pittsburgh. The museum also acquired works by many of these artists, resulting in an extraordinarily rich collection of experimental films from the 1960s and 1970s, including Stan Brakhage's Dog Star Man (1961-1964), Harry Smith's Heaven and Earth Magic (1957-1962), Bruce Conner's Cosmic Ray (1962), Anger's Scorpio Rising (1963), Frampton's Nostalgia (1971), and Roger Jacoby's Kunst Life (1976). CMOA also began presenting video works in the 1970s, and collecting and exhibiting this medium began in earnest in the early 1980s with the opening of a dedicated video gallery in the museum's permanent collection galleries. Important works acquired during this time include Nam June Paik's Global Grove (1973), Peter Campus's Three Transitions (1973), Vito Acconci's Theme Song (1973), and Lynda Benglis' Now (1973). Dara Birnbaum's Will-`o-the-Wisp, commissioned for the 1983 Carnegie International, was the first video installation acquired by the museum, followed by Bill Viola's The Sleep of Reason, commissioned for the 1988 International. In 1975, Sally Dixon left the department and William Judson, a film professor at the University of Pittsburgh, succeeded her as curator. During Judson's tenure, the Film and Video Department continued to play an important role in Pittsburgh's film community and cultural fabric. The department started screening foreign films, which became hubs for various immigrant populations throughout the city and the region. The museum also began collecting and exhibiting video artworks that were geared toward gallery presentation. One of the best known exhibitions, American Landscape Video: The Electronic Grove, opened in 1988. It featured seven video installation works by well-known artists like Rita Myers, Mary Lucier, Dara Birnbaum, Frank Gillette, Steina Vasulka, Bill Viola, and Doug Hall. It was a memorable and provocative show, playing with expectations around traditional landscape painting as well as representations of the changing cultural and physical landscape of the late 20th century. In 2003, the Department of Film and Video was eliminated due to organizational realignment, and responsibility for caring for, displaying, and augmenting the collection passed to the Contemporary Art Department. Since then, CMOA has continued to commission, acquire, and present works in this medium, including Christian Jankowski's Puppet Conference (2003, commissioned for Forum 51: Christian Jankowski), Kutlug Ataman's Kuba (2004, co-commissioned for the 2004 Carnegie International), John Bock's Meechfieber (2004, commissioned for the 2004 Carnegie International), Jesper Just's Bliss and Heaven (2004), Sharon Lockhart's Pine Flat (2005), Phil Collins' the world won't listen (2004-2007), Doug Aitken's migration (empire) ± linear version (2008, a version of which premiered in the 2008 PDF Created January 20, 2016 Department of Film and Video archive, Page 3 of 65 Carnegie International), Cory Arcangel's Drei Klavierstücke, op. 11, and Frances Stark's My Best Thing (2011). It also augmented its representation of seminal works from the 1960s and 1970s by such artists as Bruce Naumann, Paul McCarthy, Nam June Paik, and Martha Rosler. Subjects This collection is indexed under the following headings in the OSU Libraries Catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog (http://oasis.oregonstate.edu) using these headings. PDF Created January 20, 2016 Department of Film and Video archive, Page 4 of 65 Series Outline fv001/001. Department of Film and Video records, 1907-2003 fv001/002. Department of Film and Video lectures and interviews with artists, 1970-1990 fv001/003. Department of Film and Video library, 1970-2003 PDF Created January 20, 2016 Department of Film and Video archive, Page 5 of 65 Table of Contents fv001/001. Department of Film and Video records, 1907-2003..............................................................................................6 fv001/002. Department of Film and Video lectures and interviews with artists, 1970-1990................................................65 fv001/003. Department of Film and Video library, 1970-2003.............................................................................................65 PDF Created January 20, 2016 Department of Film and Video archive, Page 6 of 65 Detailed Description of the Collection fv001/001. Department of Film and Video records, 1907-2003 (200 cubic feet of textual records and graphic materials) fv001/001/001. Administrative files, 1968-2003 (20 cubic feet of textual records) fv001/001/001/001. Early files, 1968-1979 (.5 cubic feet of textual records) fv001/001/001/002. General administrative files, 1970-2003 fv001/001/001/003. Personnel files, 1970-2003 fv001/001/001/004. Funding and donation files, 1970-2003 fv001/001/002. Film and Video Makers Travel Sheet and Directories, 1973-1987 fv001/001/003. Artist files, 1926-2009 fv001/001/003/001. Files for artists with accessioned artworks, 1970-2009 fv001/001/003/001/B001/F01. Artist file for Max Almy, 1984-1985 fv001/001/003/001/B001/F02. Artist file for Kenneth Anger containing correspondence with Sally Dixon, 1973-1974 fv001/001/003/001/B001/F03. Artist file for Kenneth Anger containing correspondence with Bill Judson, 1978 fv001/001/003/001/B001/F04. Artist file for Kenneth Anger containing correspondence, program notes and ephemera, 1974-1980 fv001/001/003/001/B001/F05. Artist file for Kenneth Anger containing articles and promotional materials, 1973-1981 fv001/001/003/001/B001/F06. Artist file for Kenneth Anger containing interview, approximately 1970 fv001/001/003/001/B001/F07. Artist file for Kenneth Anger containing newspaper clippings, 1980 fv001/001/003/001/B001/F08. Artist file for Robert Ashley, 1983-1984 fv001/001/003/001/B001/F09. Artist file for Freude Bartlett, 1973-1975 fv001/001/003/001/B001/F10. Artist file for Stephen Beck, 1973-2001 fv001/001/003/001/B001/F11. Artist file for Lynda Benglis, 1973-1974 fv001/001/003/001/B001/F12. Artist file for Stephanie Beroes, 1977-1986 fv001/001/003/001/B001/F12/001. Postcard from Stephanie Beroes to Travel Sheet Film, 1981 (1 page) fv001/001/003/001/B001/F12/002. Postcard from Stephanie Beroes to Bill Judson, 1979 (1 page) fv001/001/003/001/B001/F12/003. Postcard from Stephanie Beroes to Bill Judson, 5/12/1979 (1 page) fv001/001/003/001/B001/F12/004. Postcard from Stephanie Beroes to Bill Judson, 6/4/1980 (1 page) fv001/001/003/001/B001/F12/005. Letter from Stephanie Beroes to Bill Judson, 1983 (3 pages) fv001/001/003/001/B001/F12/006. Program notes for Visiting Filmmaker Stephanie Beroes, 9/11/1980 (2 pages) fv001/001/003/001/B001/F12/007. Press release for Visiting Filmmaker Series Events, 1980 (1 page) fv001/001/003/001/B001/F12/008. Notes on Stephanie Beroes, 1980 (1 page) fv001/001/003/001/B001/F12/009. Letter from Bill Judson to Jack Lane, 8/7/1980 (1 page) fv001/001/003/001/B001/F12/010. Letter from Stephanie Beroes to Bill Judson, 11/27/1979 (1 page) fv001/001/003/001/B001/F12/011. Letter from Stephanie Beroes to Robert Haller, 6/28/1979 (1 page) fv001/001/003/001/B001/F12/012. Photocopy of photograph of Stephanie Beroes, 1980 (1 page) fv001/001/003/001/B001/F12/013. Resume of Stephanie Beroes, 1985 (3 pages) fv001/001/003/001/B001/F12/014. Letter from Stephanie Beroes to Bill Judson, 11/7/1986 (1 page) PDF Created January 20, 2016 Department of Film and Video archive, Page 7 of 65 fv001/001/003/001/B001/F12/015. Letter from Stephanie Beroes to Bill Judson, 4/22/1978 (1 page) fv001/001/003/001/B002/F01.